AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: We turn now to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has taken vast areas of the eastern DRC and is marching on the strategic city of Uvira near the border with Burundi, triggering panic, with residents reporting widespread looting, bodies lying in the streets, and government forces commandeering boats to escape the insurgents’ advance. M23 is also advancing on the city of Butembo north of Goma, which the armed group seized in January in an offensive that killed some 3,000 people.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has accused M23 of killing children and attacking hospitals and warehouses storing humanitarian aid, and says as many as 15,000 people have fled into Burundi in recent days. On Wednesday, the Congolese foreign minister addressed the U.N. Security Council.

THÉRÈSE KAYIKWAMBA WAGNER: We are looking for a political solution, and we’re committed to it. The problem that we have is that despite the commitments that Rwanda or the lip service that Rwanda serves to the cause of a political solution, when we look on the ground, we see desolation; we see the constant advance of the M23; we see executions of children, as reported by the OHCHR yesterday; and we see that Rwanda is not being faithful or keeping their words and not being sincere in engaging in a political solution.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: In an interview with CNN earlier this month, Rwandan President Paul Kagame claimed he was unaware of any Rwandan military troops fighting in the eastern DRC.

LARRY MADOWO: Today, on the 3rd of February, does Rwanda currently have any troops at all in eastern DRC?

PRESIDENT PAUL KAGAME: I don’t know.

LARRY MADOWO: You’re the commander-in-chief.

PRESIDENT PAUL KAGAME: Yeah. There are many things I don’t know.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Kagame, the president of Rwanda, being interviewed by CNN’s Larry Madowo.

For more, we’re joined by the Congolese analyst and activist Kambale Musavuli, who’s now based in Accra, Ghana, policy analyst with the Center for Research on the Congo-Kinshasa, and his latest piece for Peoples Dispatch headlined “The battle for control of Goma continues.”

Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Kambale. It’s great to have you with us again this week, but under horrible circumstances. Explain the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo for people who are not aware of what is happening, how dire it is, and what you think needs to happen.

KAMBALE MUSAVULI: Since the beginning of the year, we’ve had over 500,000 people who have been displaced in the east, added to the 6 million already displaced in the country. And this is caused by the uprising of the M23. It’s a militia group that has existed in the Congo under different names. And this is their latest uprising. As they’re taking over town after town, killings are taking place. For example, for the city of Goma, at least 3,000 people have been killed in the city during the battle of taking over Goma. And just yesterday, we’re finding out more information about the taking over of the city of Bukavu.

But this battle, which has been raging for close to 30 years, is always about the control of Congo’s mineral wealth, and Congolese are paying the price. As the world needs Congo’s resources, unfortunately, strong actions are not being taken to bring about peace and stability in the Congo. And we know what needs to happen. You know, international pressure on Rwanda, and Uganda, to some extent, will bring about peace and stability. It was done in 2012. It’s not being done now.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, Kambale, can you explain why you think that’s the case? The last time you were the show, you said the same thing, as indeed in an opinion piece in The New York Times that appeared yesterday, Nobel laureate Denis Mukwege, a Congolese Nobel laureate, peace laureate, made exactly the same argument. So, what is the difference between 2012 and now?

KAMBALE MUSAVULI: There seems to be, in my view, a geopolitical consideration from Western countries who benefit from Congo’s resources. If you look at an article that came out just last month from Sky News, the reporter was analyzing the European Union. The European Union has an agreement with Rwanda on getting access to critical minerals. And they are refusing to cancel that agreement, when we all know that minerals being sold by Rwanda in the quantity that it’s doing is actually coming from the DRC. The consideration for the European Union is that by canceling this contract, it will give ways to Russia and China getting access to mineral resources — clearly telling us that the lives of the millions of Congolese do not matter. That’s on one level the reason why there is no action.

The other one is the world apathy. The information being accessible or available on the DRC is there. Even African nations are not taking the necessary actions for that. So, this is about pitiful ordinary citizens. We are saying that we can’t talk about the Fourth Industrial Revolution without Congo’s resources, but we should not have blood in the technology devices that we are using. So it’s up to the citizens in the biggest metropolitan, the United States, that’s benefiting from the pilfering of Congo’s resources, European nations, and including the U.K. World pressure of ordinary citizens is going to support the Congolese in the struggle to bring about peace and stability.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you about the West’s support for Rwanda. This goes to a number of issues. We just spoke to you a few days ago about the Oscar-nominated documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat about what the U.S. did with its involvement in the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first independence leader of modern-day Congo, and using Black jazz musicians in the United States in cementing the U.S. relationship and trying to get access to all the rare metals.

Now I wanted to come here to 2025. Earlier this month, DRC’s foreign minister urged three football clubs — Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain — to end their, quote, “bloodstained” sponsorship agreements with “Visit Rwanda,” questioning the morality of such partnerships. Just today, Reuters reports Rwanda has described this criticism as a threat to regional peace and security.

Meanwhile, the musician John Legend is scheduled to headline Global Citizen’s Move Afrika tour and play in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, on Friday. The Nigerian Grammy-winning singer Tems recently canceled her appearance, saying, quote, “So I recently promoted my show in Rwanda without realizing that there is an ongoing conflict between Rwanda and Congo. I never ever intend to be insensitive to real-world issues, and I sincerely apologize if this came across that way. I simply had no idea this was going on. My heart goes out to those affected. Conflict is no joke and I truly hope and pray for peace in this time.”

If you can talk about both the concert, John Legend participating, but, of course, the bigger issue — also the sports teams — all this Western support for Rwanda and how it’s furthered the conflict in Congo?

KAMBALE MUSAVULI: This is a form of soft power that these institutions and individuals are doing. I mean, John Legend going to Rwanda in the midst of 3,000 people being killed, children being recruited by militia groups — and it’s not that he’s not aware. There have been a campaign for close to two months now letting him know that he should not attend. Now, Tems took action. So, all the people who support him — he’s not the only one. Dave Chappelle traveled to Kigali and took a picture with Paul Kagame. You have even Kendrick Lamar, who was just headlining at the NFL, had a concert in Kigali, and at the end of the concert, he was on stage with Paul Kagame. So, when people in the United States watch the news and see Kendrick Lamar, see John Legend, see Dave Chappelle with Paul Kagame, and the usual people — you know, you have Tim Cook of Apple also with him — it creates an image that this is a great leader, a noncriminal leader, who’s helping his country. So, it’s a form of soft power to actually cover that. And we have to expose it.

Now, this, as we pointed out in the film, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, showed that in the past the State Department and CIA used artists as a ploy for soft power. Right now the same thing is happening. I think that should be exposed. It’s critical for ordinary people to challenge them, even not to go to the NBA. I mean, the NBA Africa, they are lobbying to engage on the African continent. On the day of the all-stars, there was a protest outside of the all-stars game, where ordinary Americans were saying the NBA has blood on its hands for collaborating with Rwanda.

So, we have to expose all these contradictions, but we must not forget that this battle is very dire. People are being killed on a daily basis. Congo’s territorial integrity is affected. The Congolese have called for Rwandan troops to leave. And all of us around the world, we have to do everything in our power to join the Free Congo campaign, to put pressure on Rwanda and any negative forces so the Congolese can have a chance to change the country.

AMY GOODMAN: Kambale Musavuli, we want to thank you so much for being with us, Congolese analyst and activist, now based in Accra, Ghana, policy analyst with the Center for Research on the Congo-Kinshasa. We’ll link to your latest piece in Peoples Dispatch. It’s headlined “The battle for control of Goma continues.” To see our extended interview with Kambale from a few days ago, you can go to democracynow.org, as well as a full interview with the director of the Oscar-nominated film Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, that includes a number of clips of this documentary about U.S. involvement, Belgian involvement with the assassination of the Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba and how the U.S. State Department deployed Black jazz musicians, who would later revolt against what they had done in Congo by protesting at the U.N. General Assembly after Lumumba was killed, shouting “assassin” and “murderer.” I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.